Marlins promote Yelich, Marisnick; send out Ozuna, Dietrich

July 23, 2013|By Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel

DENVER — Marlins fans got a glimpse of the future with the early promotions of outfielder Marcell Ozuna and Derek Dietrich. Not they'll get to see two others who figure prominently in the club's future plans.

After Monday's 3-1 win over the Rockies, the Marlins announced they will select the contracts of Double-A outfielders and top prospects Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick. Both players were pulled from Monday’s Suns’ game at the Tennessee Smokies.

Yelich exited for a pinch-runner after a third inning single. Marisnick followed and was hit by a pitch when he came out for a pinch-runner as well.

To make room for them, the Marlins optioned Ozuna and Dietrich to the Suns.

"I want to make this really clear," President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest said. "The offensive woes of this team I don't want to be attributed to [Ozuna and Dietrich]. That's not why this is happening...Those kids did an incredible job. We rushed them here to the big leagues out of need. They had very little to almost no Double-A experience and they did a great job for us.

"Heading into the break and into the weerkend we talked about their at-bats and their approach and the mental side of the offense, etc. We just thought it warranted a time to go down to the minor leagues and work on some offensive things on both their parts. They still have some work to do in the minor leagues...We asked a lot of them and they responded and did a great job. They're part of our future, and part of our future is coming as well."

The question on Yelich was when, not if, he would arrive. He might have gotten here sooner if not for a couple of stints on the disabled list, most recently due to an abdominal strain. He is hitting .280 with a .883 on-base plus slugging percentage in 193 at-bats for the Suns.

From a statistical standpoint, Marisnick’s promotion certainly is merited. He’s long since been ready with the glove, and offensively he’s hit .294 with 12 homers, 46 RBI and a .860 OPS in 265 at-bats.

Neither Yelich nor Marisnick is on the 40-man roster, which currently stands at 40. The Marlins can clear one spot putting Chris Coghlan on the 60-day disabled list.

Manager Mike Redmond said he anticipates both players starting Tuesday. Marisnick will man center and Yelich will play left.

"This is a positive," Redmond said. "[Ozuna and Dietrich] came up with just a little bit of Double-A experience and hit in the middle of our order for a good bit of time and really energized us. At the same time, we have to do the right thing for these guys and make sure when they come back to the big leagues it's for their careers.

"Bringing Yelich and Marisnick, these are two guys that are definitely going to improve our defense in the outfield. They'll bring excitement and hopefully bring another boost of energy to this team and this lineup."